Design is important for a website, without a doubt, but even more important is the content that goes along with it. It is the content that draws visitors to a website. If content is of high quality, it in turn leads website visitors to consume even more content from that website.
Content is the driver of traffic and marketing efforts. It connects people and brands. It provides entertainment as well as informs and educates. For these reasons content is a resource for a website, that should be cherished. consequently, every website should focus on developing great content.
Content is not just the text and images that goes on a website, it can be much more. Content refers to any resource on a website, that can be consumed by site visitors. It is basically anything that website visitors can view or interact with.
The reason people build websites, should not merely be for decorative purposes, or just for their amusement, even if these may be part of the reasons. People should build websites because, they have something to share with their intended audience, and to engage with them.
In focusing on content for a website, there are a lot of options to choose from. Starting with blogs, articles and infographics, or videos, the list of types of content is long. The good thing about most types of content, is that people other than those working on a website can contribute through conversations, such as comments and posts.
Videos are a great content type that a website can also focus on. Whilst not everyone will read a blog, most people will take the time to watch a video. Another great thing about video content, is that it can be syndicated through video sharing sites such as Youtube, thereby increasing viewership.
Podcasts are also another great content type to consider. Imagine a radio station that has broadcasts that people can listen to at any time of the day. That’s what podcasts are all about, they are recordings listed on a website which people can listen to.
Creating content for a website has to be a well thought out plan. You have to aim at producing great content, and not just producing content for the sake of having content. Great content has to do at least one of four things; it has to entertain, educate, persuade and convert.
One of the biggest incentives that has people seek out content on the Web is entertainment. People spend a significant portion of their time, and hard earned money on entertainment. If you dedicate some of your website resources, to providing entertainment to website visitors, you will be taking a step in the right direction.
The web is also one of the places that people will go to seek out information of an educational nature. This is information that helps broaden their perspective. To be able to provide education to others, places you in a position of an authority figure, that people can rely on, and will build your good reputation as a subject matter expert, in the long run.
Great content can also persuade others to your line of thinking, or convert them to a particular cause, or convince them to buy your product. People seek out information that helps them realise their place in life, or find greater meaning in it and also find growth in various areas of their lives.
Another reason every website should focus on content is that, it is great for Search Engine Optimization (S E O). Search engines are in the business of monetising the need for people to find great content, and naturally, if you work on providing great content, your website will get better rankings in search results and will easily be found online.
For the same reason that you do well in S E O, your marketing edge will receive a major boost, from having great content. People are naturally drawn to great content, and if you have great content on your website, you will have more exposure and the opportunity to market to your website visitors. Sometimes the marketing benefit is indirect, and will be based more on the reputation you build, from the great content you offer.
Providing great content is easier said than done. It requires planning and consistent delivery. First you have to set up the necessary infrastructure on the website, to support the kind of content you are providing, and then you need to have the discipline to execute and follow through.
Speaking from personal experience from running this blog, things are never easy. You have to show up every time, on schedule, even when you don’t feel like it. There are times that it is hard to come up with material to write or produce, but you need to do it, in order to be consistent and deliver, as has become to be expected of you.
In order to avoid falling behind and not completing your set tasks for content production and management, it is important to always plan ahead. For example, when I started writing this blog, I used to write one post a week as I was dues to publish that week. It wasn’t long before I realised how impractical this was and now write several articles in advance.
My experience underscores the need for a strategy when producing content. You cannot think of producing content as a one time affair, if you are to benefit from the rewards of producing content.
Website content needs to be regular and on a consistent schedule, if it is to have a meaningful impact. That is why your content strategy has to include research, to identify the right type of content, as well as establish what your audience is looking for. Once you have done that, you need to undertake the task of creating the content.
Things do not end at the creation stage in your strategy, or even once you publish. You need to strategise on how to promote the content. How to get the content out there, to a suitable audience.
You also need to optimise the content for delivery on various devices and platforms. Also important: you need to measure how the content is doing, so that you can make strategic decisions about your content strategy in the future.
Focusing on content will allow your website to reach more people, receive more visitors, and increase the interactivity with your target audience.
If you plan and execute effectively, you will see better results in how people respond to your content. There are many benefits that will result form your focus on producing great content, some of which are better S E O, more potential customers, as well as having a marketing edge.
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